A few notes about how I've cataloged the following: Directors are labeled under their most commonly known name (example: Aristide Massaccesi will be filed under Joe D'Amato). Films are listed under their most commonly known titles with other common alternate titles in parenthesis (example: City of the Living Dead (aka The Gates of Hell)).

Friday, February 4, 2011

[Updated on 2/4/11: I've updated the post to include the title's to my favorite movies of 2010. Enjoy.]

As the blogosphere closes the door on showcasing films from 2010 (I won't be, though, since I still have a handful of releases I want to see), I'm left thinking about how hard it is becoming for me to see movies the year they are released. I also often wonder if I'm just wasting my time limiting myself to the year's releases when I do these year-in-review type posts when I should be showcasing all of the great films I see during the year (I like the way Ed Howard does his year-end lists). Looking at the list of films I missed, it's a wonder why I'm even trying to attempt to construct a "best of" list because I feel like I've missed way too much to even begin to make myself believe that I've seen enough for my opinion on the year to matter. However, these lists – as arbitrary as they are – are still fun to do for list-happy people like myself, and this year I figured I would switch up the format and just show images of my favorite films….this isn't a definitive list by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a good idea of the types of movies released in 2010 that I fell in love with. I decided on 14 films this year because I felt like I had 14 great movie experiences, and I didn't want to exclude any of them just because convention says we do a list of 10 or 20 or 25…

Now, I figured to kind make interesting the unveiling of the list I would compile screengrabs that wouldn't be too obvious for you to guess which movie they come from. The purpose? Let's have a little contest: Whoever gets all 16 images (the image that sits atop this post plus an extra one at the very end in addition to the 14 films I've chosen as my favorites of the year) I've placed in this post correct first will get a prize. We'll discuss the prize via email. No foolin'…a prize! It's my way of saying thanks for continuing to check this blog out after 3 years of inconsistency (both in quality and quantity of posts). I feel like this has been the best year yet, and, with my completion of Graduate School a mere two months away, I look forward to spending more time on the blog. I've loaded up the Netflix queue with tons of foreign films. It will be the year of Fellini, Pasolini, Antonioni, Bergman, and any other giant of foreign cinema I can think of on the blog…I'll also be mixing the sacred with the profane with more reviews of exploitation and Italian horror cinema. And this year – with no Grad School to worry about – I will host another Italian Horror Blogathon. So, it's going to be a fun year...I think. I look forward to more enriching conversation with you all. Thanks for reading!

Images after the jump…

Some helpful hints: Don't think by clicking on the "2010 Reviews" tab above you'll be able to guess which films appear on the list because I've had a change of heart after second and third viewings of certain films. I also stopped writing reviews for everything I have seen over the last three months, so there are a number of films that appear below that aren't accounted for in the archives. If the film is still in theaters, I most likely got the screengrab from the trailer (there are a couple of exceptions). And finally, I think the first five should be pretty easy if you know me. Have fun.

The films do not appear in any kind order. Although, 1 -5 are definitely films I would consider "the best" of 2010…but that doesn't mean I like 6 -14 any less.

To make it a little easier on you, here's what I didn't see this year: The Fighter, 127 Hours, Sweetgrass, Casino Jack, Inside Job, Animal Kingdom, The Illusionist, Fish Tank, Toy Story 3, Last Train Home, White Material, The Human Centipede (The First Sequence), Another Year, Harry Potter 7, Carlos, The King's Speech.

Simply leave a comment with what you think each number is. Some will be easier than others. Enjoy.

I'm going to forego guessing as well, I play screencap games like this frequently with some buds, and I am simply atrocious at it. But I do want to wish you a happy 3 years, I know I don't post over here nearly often enough, but I always enjoy checking in, you're doing an awesome job.

Thanks, Drew! I appreciate it. I'm always happy to hear people are reading this blog. I know all too well how hard it is to keep up with everyone's blog AND comment. Thanks for the kind words and for checking-in!

Everyone:

I'm curious, how many of the films (that you've guessed so far) on my list would appear (or appeared) on your list? Just curious about the overlap. I'll post the titles to the images on Friday.

Everyone has pretty much figured out the top image and 1-5. Jason is correct in identifying Let Me In (image 6); Jaime was correct in identifying image 7 as being from The American.

8,9, and 12 have been identified correctly.

I will not give any clues for 11 because Jason's agony amuses me. Image 13 is from a non-American film; Image 14 is NOT from Never Let Me Go; and think of image 15 as something that isn't traditional (hence why I would just tack it on as a plus-one) because even though it didn't play in theaters, it was still one of the best things I saw all year.

Kevin, I did a top 25 instead of 10 or 15 (which I posted back in December), and obviously not knowing all the answers here I can't give you an exact figure, but I think there are at least 6-7 that overlap between ours, maybe more once all the blanks are filled in!

"I've loaded up the Netflix queue with tons of foreign films. It will be the year of Fellini, Pasolini, Antonioni, Bergman, and any other giant of foreign cinema I can think of on the blog…I'll also be mixing the sacred with the profane with more reviews of exploitation and Italian horror cinema. And this year – with no Grad School to worry about – I will host another Italian Horror Blogathon."

YOUR VIEWS INTRIGUE ME, AND I WISH TO SUBSCRIBE TO YOUR NEWSLETTER

"I suppose I think of film criticism the way I've heard Hebrew scholars describe their approach to the Torah: It's not about discovering dogma, it's about learning to ask meaningful questions, even if you can never fully answer them."

--Jim Emerson

"Style is supposed to express content, dammit--not disguise a lack of it! The meaning of a film is in what these images on the screen (and don't forget the sounds!) do to you while you experience them [...] If you ask me, we should stop seeing style and content as separate entities. In a good film, they're a natural unity."

-- Peet Gelderblom

"Clearly, this does not mean that Friday the 13th is more "valuable" than Jeanne Dielman [...] But, given the great many people who have seen Friday the 13th, where is the intellectual dignity in saying, "it's crap", and being done with it? Anything that has become an iconic part of popular culture is therefore inherently worthy of exploration if not automatic respect [...] If we simply throw it out with the bathwater, on the grounds that it isn't "artistic", we also throw out the possibility of ever finding out."